System, device, and method for item sorting and conveying

Abstract

Provided is a package sorting method, a sorting area layout, a sorting system, and a path optimization method. The package sorting method includes: dividing a sorting area into at least a first logical partition close to a first item collecting area and a second logical partition close to a second item collecting area, where the first logical partition includes a first item dropping area, and the second logical partition includes a second item dropping area. By this method, a total path of package delivery is reduced.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A sorting area layout, comprising an item collecting area located in a center of the sorting area and logical partitions around the item collecting area;
 wherein the item collecting area comprises a first item collecting area and a second item collecting area, and the logical partitions comprise a first logical partition adjacent to the first item collecting area and a second logical partition adjacent to the second item collecting area; and 
 wherein the first logical partition comprises a first item dropping area configured for receiving items from the first item collecting area which are intended for a plurality of road directions, and the second logical partition comprises a second item dropping area configured for receiving items from the second item collecting area which are intended for a plurality of road directions. 
 
     
     
       2. The sorting area layout of  claim 1 , wherein the first item dropping area and the second item dropping area are each configured for receiving items intended for all road directions. 
     
     
       3. The sorting area layout of  claim 1 , wherein the sorting area further comprises a common area located outside the first logical partition and the second logical partition, and the common area comprises a third item dropping area;
 wherein the first item dropping area and the second item dropping area are each configured for receiving items intended for only a part of all road directions, and the third item dropping area is configured for receiving items from the remaining road directions. 
 
     
     
       4. The sorting area layout of  claim 1 , wherein an edge of the first item dropping area and an edge of the second item dropping area each comprise a structure recessed toward the center of the sorting area. 
     
     
       5. The sorting area layout of  claim 4 , wherein the edge of the first item dropping area and the edge of the second item dropping each are a sawtooth structure. 
     
     
       6. An item sorting system, configured for sorting items in a sorting area, wherein the item sorting system comprises a plurality of mobile transporting devices, and the sorting area comprises an item collecting area and an item dropping area around the item collecting area, wherein the item collecting area comprises at least a first item collecting area and a second item collecting area, and the sorting area comprises a first logical partition adjacent to the first item collecting area and a second logical partition adjacent to the second item collecting area;
 the item dropping area comprises a first item dropping area and a second item dropping area, the first item dropping area is located in the first logical partition, and the second item dropping area is located in the second logical partition; 
 wherein a first mobile transporting device located in the first logical partition is configured to obtain an item from the first item collecting area and move to the first item dropping area along the first logical partition to deliver the item to the first item dropping area; and 
 a second mobile transporting device located in the second logical partition is configured to obtain an item from the second item collecting area and move to the second item dropping area along the second logical partition to deliver the item to the second item dropping area. 
 
     
     
       7. The item sorting system of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the first item dropping area or the second item dropping area comprises a plurality of temporary item storage containers intended for all road directions. 
     
     
       8. The item sorting system of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the first item dropping area or the second item dropping area comprises a plurality of temporary item storage containers intended for a part of all road directions, wherein the sorting area further comprises a common area located outside the first logical partition and the second logical partition, wherein the common area comprises a plurality of temporary item storage containers intended for the remaining road directions. 
     
     
       9. The item sorting system of  claim 6 , wherein an edge of the item dropping area comprises a structure recessed toward a center of the sorting area. 
     
     
       10. The item sorting system of  claim 9 , wherein the edge of the item dropping area is a sawtooth structure. 
     
     
       11. The item sorting system of  claim 6 , further comprising a server that runs a path optimization method for the item sorting system, the path optimization method comprising:
 mapping a container with a short delivery distance to a road direction with a high delivery probability, so as to minimize a total delivery distance of a mobile transporting device. 
 
     
     
       12. The item sorting system of  claim 11 , wherein the “mapping a container with a short delivery distance to a road direction with a high delivery probability, so as to minimize a total delivery distance of a mobile transporting device” comprises:
 assuming there are N road directions and N temporary item storage containers in the sorting area, a path distance of one round-trip delivery corresponding to an ith temporary item storage container is Si, a probability of a jth road direction being selected in each delivery is Pj, and i, j ∈ E {1, 2, . . . , N}, so that each probability meets the following relationship: 
 
       
         
           
             
               
                 
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         then a mapping of the container i to the road direction j, is optimized by the following formula: 
       
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
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                     .